Ronald McDonald House

Ronald McDonald House at Cardinal Glennon

The Ronald McDonald Houses in St. Louis offer a convenient home away from home – a place where they and their children can sleep, do laundry and eat hot meals, for only $5 a night.

“They’ve made things easy for us in a difficult time,” said Nikki Ferro of Fulton. “When we need to get away from the hospital for a few hours, we come here. It makes things much less stressful on the whole family.”

Who can stay?

To qualify, families must live at least 50 miles from St. Louis. The Ronald McDonald House can only take requests three days in advance of the family’s stay.

Requests to stay at the house can be made by contacting the Social Service department at SSM Cardinal Glennon at 314-577-5697.

Key features

Volunteer groups make dinner for the house guests most nights, but families can also cook for themselves and store food in their own refrigerators and pantries.

The newest addition to the house is a room with Internet terminals so mom and dad can check e-mail while they’re away from home and work.

Sense of community

Javier Ferro said the sense of community among families has meant the most to him during his stay. “You feel like you are the only family this has happened to, but when you come here, you realize that you’re not the only people alone out there,” he said. “And all the volunteers have been really nice. Anything you need, they’ll get you.”

The Park Avenue location has 11 rooms, while the location on West Pine has 20. There are also eight long-term apartments adjacent to the house on West Pine for families of children who are undergoing extended stays in the hospital.

Kylie, 8, Devin, 4, and Lathan Ferro, 2, like riding their bikes in the Ronald McDonald House parking lot or playing with toys in the playroom.